Never Stop Growing

“ANYONE WHO STOPS LEARNING IS OLD, WHETHER AT TWENTY OR EIGHTY. ANYONE WHO KEEPS LEARNING STAYS YOUNG. THE GREATEST THING IN LIFE IS TO KEEP YOUR MIND YOUNG.” — HENRY FORD.

This is one of my favorite sayings about learning, it speaks to the heart of what so many people forget especially as we get older. Knowing and understanding that you are never too old to learn is a characteristic that many leaders have made a part of their DNA. Successful people are outstanding performers. Outstanding performers remain outstanding this way by becoming lifelong learners. This type of learner continually expands their knowledge in order to put themselves in front of the pack and remain there. Begin your lifelong learning journey by focusing on your strengths and working to improve them every day. Building on your strengths is easier that overcoming your weaknesses. If you find gaps in your current skillset, do not wait, invest in your learning today. Ask yourself these questions:

“What are you learning right now and what will you learn tomorrow?

Ben Franklin said “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”

Of course, it goes without saying, we should always continue to better ourselves in learning in any way possible. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards. For the sake of your own personal growth, as well as for that of your job and those people around you, embed simple steps into your day to never stop learning as this will keep your mind, body, and surroundings fresh – and you’ll be surprised with some of these additional benefits you’ll gain from a bit of regular brain exercise.

For me, staying alive with my learning I like to read, whether that be with a book or a podcast. The 3 types of reading I favour are:

Conceptual: old or new concepts, best practices, behavior and development, human modeling and the like,

Behavioral: project management, supply chain, leadership

Influential: books that are related to daily life, being a better person, life lessons, stories, etc.

Leaders are always learning, obtaining feedback from others allows you to continue to learn and grow. Just like you want your team and your organization to improve, you also want to improve yourself. 

How should you know what book to read next? Think about the challenges that your company or a company you want to work for is facing. Are you looking to build your margins, supply chain strategy, or profit? What are the challenges you face as a leader that you’d like to accomplish? Most all of us are busy people with plenty of things on our plates and I guarantee you are asking yourself “how do I have time to read and entire book”? Almost every book you can obtain from online sources, such as podcasts, YouTube and purchasing the audio file still allows you to get that great content from the book, but lets you listen to it at your convenience like driving in the car, listening at work or home, or even on a nightly walk.

To stay relevant, hungry and motivated, it’s important to make a lifelong commitment to education and growth and here are a few reasons why.

To keep developing and coming up with new ideas

If you really want to invite inspiration and ideas, make a commitment to learning something new every day by reading books, following podcasts, staying updated with the news or pursuing any number of resources that can expose you to new ideas and concepts.

Maintain your passion 

No matter how much you love your job it can feel like a chore, learning is the key to keeping passion alive over the long run.

Talk to friends and colleagues with better conversation

Who doesn’t want to impress or seem interesting and have valuable information, topics and ideas to talk about? The more you learn the more things you will be able to talk about. You will expand your knowledge and interests and connect deeper on a wider variety of topics.

Health Benefits

Learning can help you actually live longer. While using your brain will not prevent many different types of diseases, learning new things can delay symptoms, which can improve your quality of life. Given the added benefits are not just for your career but for your overall well-being, commit to learning something new every day.

Once you make the commitment to learning and growing daily, you will start to see you are willing to try new things, are intellectually curious, not afraid to fail, you will stay focused on getting ahead of the pack and you will be more humble. 

In closing, I would like to share a few of my favorite quotes about learning:

‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ –Benjamin Franklin

‘The more I read, the more I acquire, the more certain I am that I know nothing.’ –Voltaire

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’ –Dr. Seuss